Discussion

Quick report on Tappo

Had a great small meal at Tappo last night. Started with a cabbage salad with parmasen, pomegranate seeds, apples, oranges and walnuts. Very good, not totally blown away. Lots of great textures and fun things in the salad. We then had two pastas. The mushroom ravioli and gnocchi with meat ragu. The ravioli was cooked perfectly al dente and the mushroom filling was delicious, although a little mushy for my taste. The sauce was butter and sage and was fabulous. Such a good simple sauce for ravioli. The gnocchi were also wonderful. Very soft (although I actually like them a bit chewier) with a fabulous ragu. You could really tast the nutmeg and other spices. I would definitly go back (although the menu supposedly changes daily, so I might not be able to get the gnocchi again). The one issue is that it is a little more expensive than Lupa, Gennaro, or Max (my favorite three). $14-16 for pastas, instead of 10 and $18-25 for mains instead of $15. SOunds like nitpicking, but when you can get the best italian for less money, why spend more?

Tappo recently got a new chef and totally changed their format. They used to have a list of about 15 appetizers that stayed the same and entree's that changed daily. Now there are fewer appetizers and the entire menu changes every day. We loved Tappo the way it was and were skeptical at first, but everything we had was excellent when we were there last week. We always sit at the counter that overlooks the kitchen to be close to the action. To start: oven-roasted oysters, grilled radicchio with pancetta, and mussels with chorizo. Then: a whole trout stuffed with truffles, which was delicious, even though I had a tough time locating the truffles. Also, the prices are considerably lower than they used to be.